GreekChat.com Forums - What if they don't want to live in house?

GreekChat.com Forums (https://greekchat.com/gcforums/index.php)

- Greek Life (https://greekchat.com/gcforums/forumdisplay.php?f=24)

- - What if they don't want to live in house? (https://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=46330)

This is done privately. University officials have no say. The offer for a house on our part is on the table. If the offer isn't taken within a year and a house is not found, it's off the table.

-Rudey

Quote:

Originally posted by angelic1
Its an on campus house and its costing that much? Is it through the university that you would be paying for the house or is it just that its close to campus?

I know that since ours is done through the school.. we "rent" the house each year as a chapter then girls who live in the rooms pay a certain fee each semester. Its all in all a good situation except for the renting part bc then our house corp. are more hesitant to put money into the house.. since if we cant fill it or if something happens to our chapter we would essentially lose it and all of our investment.. so over time we have fixed up our house..

..also speaking of seeing other chapters in debt over their house.. one sorority went out and spent all this money on their new house on campus.. they ended up not being able to pay for it and held fundraisers asking other chapters for money as if it was for their philanthropy come to find out it was for their house..

You must remember that when I was running it, I felt the same way and do today, ours, not the Schools. Period!

Some Schools have done a Greek Court or Housing thing! It is working in some and not others!

Guess it depends on the situation! By The By, Rudey, PM you!

Re: What if they don't want to live in house?

Quote:

Originally posted by Rudey
Do chapters ever experience this?

How do you deal with it?

Plans are almost finalized to purchase a house on campus for my chapter and now brothers are hesitant:

"I might be abroad next year".

"I want to be with my girlfriend and have privacy".

"I want a pimp apartment".

This is ridiculous and it's pretty offensive when the price for something like this is 7 figures.

I've asked them to consider forcing pledges to move in.

-Rudey
--Any thoughts?

In my chapter, living on the sorority floor for 5 semesters is a requirement. Those that do not get fined 150 bucks. There is however a difference in not being able to live there because it's full and simply not wanting to live there. Those that live with their parents in town or cant live on the floor because it's full do not get fined. Members who simply dont want to live on the floor do get fined for every semester they havent lived on the floor up to the required number (ie. required to live 5 semesters but only lived there for 2 then they would be fined for 3 semesters).This is because if we do not keep the floor full, The office of Residential Life will put independents on the floor, thus we lose the floor.

My advice would be to set a number of semesters for members to be required to live in house. Let the pledges know this their first meeting and encourage them to go ahead and move in as a pledge if possible. Have the ones that dont want to live in the house pay fines for each required semester they arent living there. In a lot of cases money talks and is a great incentive for good or bad.

Maybe you need to look for a house that has more common area space than sleeping space. Make the house into a more social place if you need it for rush, parties, brotherhood events etc. If you have only 5 or so you'll not have to worry too much for filling, and if you have only 5 members you have other issues to deal with. But a nice hang out space could give you a way to allow the chapter the social nature, w/out the filling issue. (Maybe if it could be expanded later if more demand to live in increases.) We had a house that did that 4 spaces for 30 women and now are in a new house w/10 spaces for about 25 women. We keep it as a social center. We are able to fill easily, using a point system, and lots of the house hangs out there. I guess my point is that social/common space is more important than beds.
Good Luck!